


Ich will brennen (I want to burn)

by neverminetohold



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-02
Updated: 2012-01-02
Packaged: 2017-10-28 18:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/310604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverminetohold/pseuds/neverminetohold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only thing Erik allowed himself to regret, albeit briefly, was bringing Charles pain, to destroy the younger mans naiveté and his illusion that he could somehow fix a broken man. It is his choice and he made it a long time ago...</p><p>Disclaimer: © Copyright Marvel Comics/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ich will brennen (I want to burn)

Ich will brennen

 

The cable ripped the helmet from Shaw's head and he spun around – only to freeze half-way through the motion of reaching for it. Erik let the girder trapping him drop away and took a deep breath. The air burned in his lungs, throbbing in rhythm with his bruised ribs.

 

_Thank you, Charles_ , he sent out, recovering his steely resolve quickly.

 

_Erik...?_

 

Charles' tone in his mind seemed breathless and conveyed growing suspicion. Of course the telepath had to have known all along what he’d planned to do. Erik could only wonder why traces of disbelieving surprise twined around his own, calm thoughts. He had never done anything to hide his intentions. Not that he could have, even had he wanted to. Delusions must be the source, then, despite Charles’ claim to know 'everything' about him. Obviously, the young professor had chosen to focus on the dubious 'good' he had seen in Erik, ignoring the roiling darkness deliberately.

 

Erik straightened and circled around Shaw like the predator he is. A mere tug, absent-minded even, is all it took to let the helmet float over to him from the cables grasp.

 

_Erik! NO!_

 

As he had hoped, Charles is not able to freeze him too, not without relinquishing his hold on Shaw. The telepath can do nothing to stop him, can only use empty words.

 

_Erik, stop!_

 

Erik harbors no illusions about the nature of revenge. He knows, as he lifts the helmet over his head, to let is descent slowly, that his darkest wish fulfilled will not leave him empty; without purpose.

 

No, for Erik now knows that he is not alone. Others like him are out there. And he understands where this will lead: The humans on one side – fearful, destructive, and ever ready to hate what they cannot understand - and the mutants on the opposite side. Some are surely so powerful that the threat of an atom bomb pales in comparison. They are in hiding, trying to fit in and hating their difference. It will lead to hunting, to registration, to camps and experiments. Erik knows what that truly entails; he bears the scars to prove it. He will not allow his brothers and sisters to suffer like he did, at the mercy of men who are merely following orders.

 

He doesn't have to. Charles gave him the key to unlock his full potential: this place between rage and serenity. Lifting a submarine out of the ocean will be child’s play. Already he can feel the planet itself. It is a mere whisper at the edge of his perception, now, but the power will become his, to beg and call.

 

Erik is growing. This is only the beginning.

 

_Erik! My friend, don't -_

 

The helmet fits perfectly, as if it were made for him. Charles' insistent voice and warm presence in his mind are cut off abruptly, leaving him alone. Charles, although the only true friend Erik has ever had, will never be able to understand. He is glad for that simple fact. He would hate to look at him only to see himself mirrored in those blue eyes.

 

What the telepath chose to ignore, but Erik is now sure of, is the fact that he is his own man. Shaw had never had enough hold over him to turn him into anything, least of all a monster. The doctor had forced him to make a choice, but the decision was his. It had always been his, every time blood had stained his thoughts and hands. Revenge. Hatred. Those he had chosen, over his own death, over running away, over hiding, over peace. Over what poor substitute Charles had tried to offer him.

 

Erik did not want to be the better man. He called the Reichsmark from his pocket, showing it to the frozen man in front of him. It felt like shedding an old skin and Erik savored the act.

 

“I will count to three. And then, Herr Doktor, I will move the coin.”

 

The only thing Erik allowed himself to regret, albeit briefly, was bringing Charles pain, to destroy the younger mans naiveté and his illusion that he could somehow fix a broken man. Even in this moment, it irks him, that blatant arrogance – Erik had never wanted to be saved. Peace had never been an option. He had only given his friend truth.

 

_We will be enemies, you and I_ , he thought, although he knew that Charles could not hear him.

 

“Eins.”

 

The coin spun lazily up into the air, inching slowly towards Shaw.

 

“Zwei.”

 

It was so close now, it grinding against pale skin.

 

“Drei.”

 

…

…

…

 

Magneto emerges from the torn husk of Shaw's submarine, the man's corpse floating down with him like a puppet on its strings. Erik Lehnsherr was dead. He had outlived his usefulness. He can face Charles without remorse. He can take on the world.

 

He is  _Magneto_ .

 

End

**Author's Note:**

> Beta: the great snare-chan!


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